Major General Zoltán Somogyi
15:53 July 18, 2023Brigadier General Zoltán Somogyi was born on 27th February 1974 in Fehérgyarmat. He began his military service in August 1992 at the Military Command Collage in Szentendre. He graduated as an artillery officer with a BSc in Land Surveying Engineering in 1996. He served 8 years in a various artillery officer assignments including 4 years as Battery Commander within the HDF 5th Mechanized Infantry Brigade 5th Self Propelled Artillery Battalion in Debrecen. During his artillery officer carrier, he successfully completed the Battery Commander Course of the German Bundeswehr and gathered experiences also in the field of rocket artillery. In 2003 he was deployed to the position of the 2nd Company Commander of the Hungarian Guard and Security Battalion, KFOR Kosovo and in 2004 he assumed command of the Hungarian Guard and Security Contingent, KFOR Skopje.
In 2007, he was appointed to the position of Hungarian Joint Force Command J3 Staff Officer in Székesfehérvár and he was promoted to Major. In 2009, he was assigned as a Liaison Officer to the German Operations Command in Potsdam and to the German MOD Planning Staff in Berlin focused on Hungarian contribution to ISAF operation. In 2010, he graduated from the National Defense University with MSc degree in Military Leadership. In 2012 he graduated the 7th German National Joint Admiral and General Staff Course at the Bundeswehr Command & Staff Collage in Hamburg. Following that, he was appointed to the position of the Military Assistant to the Chief of Land Forces of the Hungarian Joint Force Command and he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. From 2013 to 2016, he served as the Head of Combat Support Branch G3 HDF JFC.
During this assignment in 2013-2014 he was deployed for seven months to Afghanistan as a senior advisor and head of a brigade level advisory team. In 2016, he was assigned to the position of Chief G37 HDF Joint Force Command. In 2017, his next appointment was at HDF JFC where he held the post of Chief J3/ACOS Operations and was promoted to the rank of Colonel.
From August 2018 he started and led the planning project of Headquarters Multinational Division Centre. He was appointed to Chief of Staff of the Headquarters Multinational Division Centre on 01 June 2020 and he was promoted to his current rank on the 20th of August 2020.
12 May 2022 – 17 May 2023 he served as Chief of Staff of EUFOR Force HQ in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Since 15 July 2023 he has been assuming the position Director of the General Staff Hungarian Defence Forces.
He is married to his wife Beatrix and lives in Várpalota.
German delegation at the Commander of the Hungarian Defence Forces
16:30 September 14, 2021
Chief of the German Army Lieutenant General Alfons Mais has arrived in Hungary at the invitation of Major General Attila Takács, Land Forces Inspector of the Hungarian Defence Forces Command. On Tuesday, 14 September in Budapest, Lieutenant General Dr. Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi, Commander of the Hungarian Defence Forces received the guest on a courtesy call in his office.
Gripen flies at Börgönd Air Show as well
17:03 September 13, 2021
H145 helicopter, Zlin 242 trainer, Mi-17 helicopter, Gripen fighter aircraft as well as military recruiters and paratroopers represented the Hungarian Defence Forces at the Börgönd Air Show on Sunday, 12 September.
Young and ageless comrades together
16:57 September 13, 2021
The most fortunate turn of events for a retired soldiers is when he can pass down his experiences to his grandchildren in a historical environment. The National Alliance of Comradeship Associations (NACA) organized the Little Comrades’ Meeting for the first time in the Pákozd Military Memorial Park on Saturday, 11 September. Also in attendance at the event was Lieutenant-General Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi, Commander of the Hungarian Defence Forces.
Dead Soldiers are no longer enemies
16:38 September 13, 2021
On Friday, 10 September the mortal remains of 22 Soviet soldiers fallen in Hungary were laid to eternal rest in the Fiumei Road Cemetery, Budapest. Speaking at the ceremony organized by the Embassy of the Russian Federation, Colonel Dr. József András Balogh, Cabinet Chief of the Ministry of Defence called attention to the importance of the war grave care work being done by the two countries.
Plant in the making
16:17 September 13, 2021
The frame structure of a Rheinmetall Hungary Zrt. combat vehicle plant has been completed in Zalaegerszeg. The topping out ceremony held on 10 September was attended, among others, by Defence Minister Tibor Benkő, Minister for Innovation and Technology László Palkovics, Government Commissioner for Defence Development Gáspár Maróth and Commander of the Hungarian Defence Forces Lieutenant-General Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi.
Hungarian-Serbian joint government meeting in Budapest
12:48 September 9, 2021
On 7 September Prime Minister Viktor Orbán received Prime Minister of Serbia Ana Brnabić and her governmental delegation paying an official visit to Hungary in the framework of the sixth Hungarian–Serbian joint government session in Budapest. At the two-day government meeting, Defence Minister Dr. Tibor Benkő held official bilateral discussions with his Serbian counterpart, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Dr. Nebojša Stefanović, and also with Minister of Labor, Employment, Veteran and Social Policy Darija Kisić Tepavčević.
Hungarian NFIU: five years – excellent performance
12:37 September 9, 2021
NATO Force Integration Units (NFIUs) will have a greater role in the Alliance in the future – this was stated at a ceremonial staff assembly organized on the occasion of the fifth birthday of NFIU Hungary in Székesfehérvár on Wednesday, 8 September.
Air Show in a week!
13:35 August 20, 2021
In eight days, on the last weekend of August, the International Air Show and Military Display can start in good order in Kecskemét, Major General Zsolt Sándor, Deputy Commander of the Hungarian Defence Forces announced at a press conference held at the Ministry of Defense in Budapest on Thursday, 19th August.
Western Balkans: Protection in All Fields
19:29 August 9, 2021
On Wednesday, 7 July Minister of Defence Tibor Benkő visited the Hungarian soldiers serving with the EUFOR and KFOR missions. The minister handed over AstraZeneca vaccines, the Hungarian government’s donation in Sarajevo and in Camp Novo Selo, near Pristina.
Strengthened support for UNFICYP
19:01 July 21, 2021
On 19 July, a technical agreement on logistic support for the service members of UNFICYP in Cyprus was signed at a Hungarian–British defence policy meeting held in the MoD Institute and Museum of Military History.